Capable
by Keleficent
Summary: Evil!Stan AU. Stan and Ford are visited by a Stan from another dimension with a hatred for Ford and determination to destroy him.


As much as Stan loved living on the Stan O' War II with his brother, he had to admit it was nice to get some time to himself. He laid on the roof of the cabin watching the stars as he waited for Ford to come back from town with the supplies they need.

Before he left, he told Stan not to get into any trouble while he was gone. Stan scoffed at that. How much trouble could he get into?

He closed his eyes as he breathed in the sea air. When he opened his eyes, instead of seeing beautiful stars above him, he saw a dark figure holding a knife high over his head.

"Whoa!" Stan rolled out of the way as the knife plunged into the wood where Stan's head just was.

"Who the hell…?" Stan's eyes widened in shock as he got a look at his attempted murderer. It was…himself?

The man who tried to put a knife looked identical to Stan, even more so than Ford. The only difference between the two of them was that the other Stan was wearing an eyepatch with a yellow symbol. "What…what the hell are you?"

"I'm you," said eyepatch-Stan. "From another dimension."

"If you're me, then why did you just try to put a knife in my head?"

"Sorry about that. You have an unfortunate resemblance to my target."

"Your target? Wait, you can't mean…Ford?"

"When I tracked this dimension's Ford down, I didn't think you'd be here with him. I guess he decided he could use a lackey for his little boat trip." His voice shook with bitterness. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he never uses you as his lackey again."

"What do you mean? What are you gonna do to Ford?"

"The same thing I did to my Ford. The same thing I did to every other Ford from every dimension I visited." The cold rage that simmered in his doppelganger's voice chilled Stan to the core and made it easy to guess what became of the Fords that crossed his path. "So, tell me, where's Ford?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you."

His eyes widened before seeming to soften with sympathy. "You poor sap. You still think your Ford cares about you, don't you? Well, let me give the dumb twin some wisdom: Fords don't care about Stans."

"I don't know what your beef with your Ford was, but I ain't gonna let you touch my Ford."

He sighed and shook his head. "Look, pal, I'd hate to have to kill a fellow Stan, but if you get in my way…"

"Hate to break it to you, but you're gonna have to kill me before I let you get to Ford."

Stan threw a punch that his counterpart dodged easily. Stan was hit on the back of his head and blacked out.

He woke up when someone slapped him in the face. "Wakey, wakey, Stan."

Stan opened his eyes and immediately tried to attack but found his hands had been chained to the boat's railing.

"Now that you're leashed up, let's try this again. Where's Ford?"

"Go to hell." The response earned Stan a hard slap across the face.

"I'll ask you again. Where is Ford?"

"Fuck you." Stan doubled over as he was punched in the gut. Eyepatch Stan grabbed his face and forced him to make eye contact.

"I'm gonna get Ford one way or another. Either you help me or I'm gonna do some serious "'self-harm.'"

"Never."

He grabbed Stan's index finger bent it backward. Stan screamed in pain as he heard the bone break. "You may not have as many as your brother, but I still have nine more to go."

"Then, you…you might as well start with this one." Stan flipped him off. Eyepatch Stan took him up on his suggestion and broke his middle finger.

Unbeknownst to the danger his brother was in, Ford was walking down the pier back to the Stan O' War II with supplies in hand. He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a scream echo across the deserted boat yard. A scream he recognized all too well.

"Stanley!" Ford dropped everything in his hands and raced towards the Stan O' War II. When he jumped on the boat, he was astonished to find his brother…two of them.

"Well, well, well, looks like brother dear finally showed up," the Stan with the eyepatch said.

"Ford, run! He's not me! He's gonna kill you!" said the Stan chained up against the railing using all his strength to try to get out of the handcuffs.

Between the cold, heartless Stan gazing at him with pure hatred versus the worried Stan urging him to save himself, Ford deduced the latter was his real brother. "Whoever or whatever you are, let my brother go."

"But, Stanford, I am your brother. The brother you tossed aside and abandoned. Like every Ford in every dimension does."

Ford bit his lip in guilt. "I made many mistakes, Stanley-"

"Maybe your Stan is stupid enough to buy your bullshit but I'm not."

Stan was able to dislodge the bottom of the railing from its bolts and slipped out his handcuffs. Ignoring the pain in his fingers (all ten of them had been broken before Ford showed up), he jumped on eyepatch Stan's back. "Ford, grab the gun! Now!"

Ford obeyed his brother and went into the cabin to retrieve his gun.

"Why are you protecting him?" Eyepatch-Stan asked as he tried to push Stan off him. "After all he's done to us…"

"Ford didn't do nothing to you." Stan pinned him to the floor.

"He left us behind."

"He was sorry."

"He called us worthless."

"Well, in your case, he was right," Stan spat.

Ford ran came back outside gun in hand. Stan pushed Eyepatch-Stan away from him to give Ford a clear shot. "Now's your chance, Ford! Shoot him!"

Ford aimed the gun but his finger refused to press down on the trigger. Even though this man was trying to kill them, it was still the face of his brother.

"What are you waiting for, Poindexter? Shoot!"

Eyepatch-Stan was glaring at him without a trace of fear. Like he was daring Ford to kill him.

He attacked them with no provocation. He was a threat to them. Ford had every right to defend himself.

But this was his brother. Murderer or not, another dimension or not, this was his brother. He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill him.

Unfortunately, Eyepatch-Stan did not share the same sentiment. He took advantage of Ford's hesitation to leap at Ford and grab the gun out of his hands. He pointed it at Ford with a malicious grin. "Shoulda taken the shot."

Stan tackled Eyepatch-Stan before he could fire at Ford, who could do nothing but watch dumbfounded as his two brothers wrestled each other. Stan was put at a huge disadvantage by his broken fingers and Eyepatch-Stan knew it too. He brought a fist down on Stan's broken fingers causing him to cry out in pain. He then kicked Stan in the knee causing it to be so far backward that the bone broke. Stan collapsed to the ground clutching his broken leg unable to get back up.

"I told you not to get in my way." He aimed his gun at Stan and prepared to shoot.

"No, stop!" Ford snapped out of his stupor and threw himself in front of Stan with his arms outstretched. "Stop, please! It's me you want!"

"Ford, what are you doing?" Stan asked in an alarmed voice.

"Your grudge is with me. Take my life," said Ford. "Just please spare my brother."

"No, Ford, don't." Stan tried to stand but his leg wouldn't support him. "Run. Save yourself."

"You…you'd give up your life to save him?" Eyepatch-Stan looked at him in surprise. This didn't make sense. Fords never cared about Stans. Certainly, not enough to die for. "Is this some kind of trick?"

"No tricks. You have the gun. Stan's leg is broken. We've lost. But there's no reason Stan has to die."

"No, Ford, you can still get away! Go now!" Stan pleaded.

Eyepatch-Stan realized his counterpart was right. Ford could have run while the two Stans were fighting. Why didn't he?

"I won't abandon you, Stanley. Not ever again." Ford gave his brother a sad smile before gazing back at Eyepatch-Stan. "Do what you must."

Eyepatch-Stan hesitantly raised the gun at Ford. He studied Ford carefully trying to think of how Ford may be tricking him. There had to be an unknown factor here. Fords only cared about themselves. Why was this one willing to die for his Stan?

"No, please!" Stan begged. "For god sakes, he's our brother!"

"He has it coming. Trust me, you're better off without him." That's what Eyepatch-Stan has been telling himself all these years. Why did he second guess himself now?

"Please…I love him." Tears were running down Stan's face now. "He's my brother, my best friend. Don't kill him. I'll do anything, please."

"Shh, Stanley, it's okay. Maybe he's right. Maybe I do deserve this."

"Don't you ever say that, Ford! Don't you dare!"

"Shut up, both of you!" Evil Stan has heard enough. He aimed the gun at Ford's heart and clicked the barrel. "I'm not stopping until every Ford in the multiverse is dead!"

Ford simply nodded before closing his eyes. He made peace with his impending death.

Stan, however, was not so calm. "NO! NO! DON'T! PLEASE!"

Evil Stan couldn't see any way Ford could be deceiving him. This was against everything he ever believed about Ford. He thought Ford never truly loved him, that he saw him as expendable, a tool to be used and dumped when finished.

But this one was really going to sacrifice himself for his brother? If this one was, how many other Fords would do this for their Stans?

"Please, brother, don't torment me. Just get it over with." The longer Ford had to wait to be killed, the more nervous he became. He wanted it to be done with before he lost his nerve completely.

After a few more moments, Evil Stan finally fired.

"FORD!"

The gunshot reverberated in Ford's ears and he waited to feel pain. When he didn't he didn't, he opened his eyes and felt his chest. There was no bullet wound. He looked up at Evil Stan in confusion.

"Dammit…dammit…DAMMIT!" Eyepatch-Stan tossed the gun into the water before glaring back at Ford. "How do you do that? How do you get in my head? Why do you always…why can't I just…why…why?"

He turned away and leaned over the edge staring down into the water. Ford cautiously approached him and tried to put his hand on Eyepatch-Stan's shoulder.

"Don't touch me." Eyepatch-Stan turned to face Ford who was looking at him with confusion, apprehension, and worst of all, pity. "Your brother has broken bones. If you really do care about him, make yourself useful and tend to him."

"Stanley…"

"Do it before I change my mind and kill you both."

Ford gave Eyepatch-Stan one last look of sympathy before running over to his Stan. He dropped to the floor by his side. He watched as they hugged each other and broke down into tears.

"Are you alright, Stanley? Your leg…"

"I'm fine, Ford. Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, don't worry, I'm not hurt." Ford glanced back at Eyepatch-Stan only to find that he had disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" Stan asked.

"I don't know," Ford replied. "But I don't think we'll be seeing him again."

A somber realization came over Stan. "That was me." He looked at Ford with guilt in his eyes as though he were somehow responsible for what happened. "That was me, Ford."

"That was not you. You're not responsible for his actions."

"But he was a version of me. He tried to kill you. He killed other Fords." The very thought made Stan feel grief for all the versions of his brother killed as well as disgusted by the fact they were murdered by his own hands. "Does that mean that…that I'm capable of that?"

"No, Stanley, don't think of it that way. There are infinite possibilities of the kind of person you could be. While there will be some universality between all the Stanley Pines of the multiverse, different circumstances of their respective universe can bring about any…I'm not helping, am I?"

He didn't appear comforted by Ford's words at all. He simply looked down in shame. Ford had to try a different approach. "Stanley, will you look at me, please?" Ford put his hand under Stan's chin and lifted his head so they made eye contact. "Listen to me. I know you. You would never hurt me. I believe that with all my heart."

"But…but he's me, Ford. He's me. You saw him. You saw what a monster he was."

"You're right, I saw him. I also saw you fighting him to protect me. I heard you telling me to run and save myself. I heard you beg for my life. I heard you tell him you love me. That's you, Stanley Pines. That's the brother I know."

Stan sniffed and smiled. "Thanks, Ford." He went to wipe his eyes only to remember his fingers were broken as pain shot through them. He groaned prompting brotherly concern from Ford.

"Come on, we better get you some treatment." Ford slung Stan's arm around his shoulder and helped him up.

As he assisted his brother in walking, Ford thought about Eyepatch-Stan. He wondered what his Ford did to him to warrant such murderous rage against all the Fords in the multiverse. It must have been pretty awful to invoke such hatred.

Like he told Stan, he shouldn't get caught up in the dealings of another dimension's version of himself. Ultimately, they were different people who made different choices in life.

But then he thought about the look in the other Stan's eyes when he decided to spare him. He saw remorse. He had been moved by his love for his brother and ultimately decided to show mercy.

Maybe deep down inside, the two Stans had more in common than he thought.


End file.
